California Community Foundation Unveils "We Are Los Angeles" Public Art Exhibit in Honor of Foundation's Centennial

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The California Community Foundation (CCF) is celebrating the culmination of its 100th year with a public art exhibit exploring social issues in Los Angeles County and celebrating the many visionary donors who have contributed to the foundation's Centennial Legacy Campaign.

Initiated in 2013, the campaign aimed to encourage L.A. residents to make permanent legacy gifts to address the future needs of Los Angeles County. The campaign has raised $129 million in pledges from 112 donors. Whether they wish to support a single organization or broad issue area like education or health, CCF will steward their legacy gifts to benefit generations to come.

For 100 years, CCF has championed a variety of issues across the county. Most recently, as our homelessness crisis continues to escalate, CCF has invested in building more permanent supportive housing for the homeless. This includes services like mental health or substance abuse treatment to help our homeless neighbors thrive.

Marking the end of the centennial today is We Are Los Angeles – a public exhibit that aims to foster civic pride and unity – values that frame CCF's work. Thirty-two renowned local artists have enhanced modern angel statues to convey their hopes for meaningful change.

"The goal of our centennial has been to motivate Angelenos to create enduring legacy gifts and increase conversation about solutions to our region's most urgent challenges," said California Community Foundation President & CEO Antonia Hernández. "As art has the power to spark dialogue and move people, we hope the We Are Los Angeles exhibit inspires people toward greater engagement in building a stronger community."

The exhibit was inspired by Community of Angels, a large-scale temporary public art installation that took place in Los Angeles from 2000-02. The foundation partnered with artist Gayle Garner Roski – who designed an angel in 2002 – to reimagine the design for today. Roski designed the six-foot-tall statue out of plasticated foam core that has two intersecting cutouts mimicking the timeless paper doll.

We Are Los Angeles artists are:
Raul Baltazar
Lili Bernard
Guillermo Bert
Enrique Castrejon
Otha "Vakseen" Davis III
Fabian Debora
Joe Galarza
Joel Garcia
Yolanda Gonzalez
Jennifer Gutierrez Morgan
Zeal Harris
Siobhan Hebron
Pearl C. Hsiung
Sandra Low
Jose Lozano
Poli Marichal
Barry Markowitz Álvaro D. Márquez
Dalila Paola Mendez
Noni Olabisi
Raul B. Pizarro
Ramon Ramirez
Jose Ramirez
Vyal Reyes
Victor Rosas
Gayle Garner Roski
Miyo Stevens-Gandara
Haruko Tanaka
Linda Vallejo
Ray Vargas
Angel Villanueva
J Michael Walker

You can see their work online at calfund.org/wala and in person from Nov. 12-17 at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles.

Following the exhibit, the angel statues will be sponsored and donated to nonprofit organizations throughout Los Angeles County that are working to improve the quality of life for all residents.

Learn more about the Centennial Legacy Campaign at calfund.org/donors/centennial-legacy-campaign.

The California Community Foundation has served as a public, charitable organization since 1915, empowering donors to pursue their own personal passions and to collaborate with us in addressing the root causes of challenges in Los Angeles County. For more information, please visit calfund.org.